Dice trays are great, you should buy one. Or make one! They are a perfect accessory to your game table for a lot of reasons.
- Dice stay on the table!
- Prevents damage to the dice or your gaming table.
- Keep things quiet when rolling.
- Everyone can see your roll.
- They look GREAT!
The big one is keeping the dice contained on the table. No sloppy dice. Or at least greatly reduced instances of rogue dice flying off onto the floor.
The other big one for me is they look cool. I like to have my gear for all my hobbies. I want stuff that looks good and serves a purpose.
And when it comes to finding some of the most unique and customizable dice trays, Etsy.com is the place to go.
The top 10 best-looking dice trays you’ll be proud to bring to your next gaming session.
- Wood Dice Trays
- Leather Dice Trays
- Highly Portable Dice Trays
- Themed Dice Trays
- So, What Makes A Great Dice Tray?
- Best Day-to-Day Dice Trays
- Best High-End Dice Trays
- Custom Dice Trays
- Simple Wooden Trays
- Octagonal Dice Trays
- What Is A Dice Tray?
- On Sizes, Shapes, and Materials
- “I mean, this one is ‘nice,’ but can I get it in chromed magenta?”
Wood Dice Trays
[lasso ref=”exotic-wood-walnut-dice-tray-nogal-peruvian-etsy” id=”5522″ link_id=”25325″]
[lasso ref=”custom-wood-dnd-dice-tray-vault-box-etsy” id=”5526″ link_id=”25326″]
[lasso ref=”portable-wooden-dice-box-with-magnetic-closure-link” id=”5528″ link_id=”25327″]
[lasso ref=”dnd-dice-tray-with-storage-box-etsy” id=”5539″ link_id=”25328″]
Leather Dice Trays
[lasso ref=”roll-up-leather-dice-rolling-tray-mat-etsy” id=”5530″ link_id=”25329″]
[lasso ref=”personalized-leather-dice-tray-etsy” id=”5541″ link_id=”25330″]
Highly Portable Dice Trays
[lasso ref=”dungeons-box-bamboo-rpg-dice-vault-rolling-tray-etsy” id=”5532″ link_id=”25331″]
[lasso ref=”collapsible-leather-map-print-dice-tray-etsy” id=”5543″ link_id=”25332″]
Themed Dice Trays
[lasso ref=”synthetic-leather-lord-of-the-rings-dice-tray-etsy” id=”5534″ link_id=”25333″]
[lasso ref=”zelda-dice-tray-synthetic-leather-etsy” id=”5537″ link_id=”25334″]
So, What Makes A Great Dice Tray?
- Lined with velvet, felt, or similar material to absorb the impact, but allow for a clean roll.
- Large enough to handle your dice – Titan dice (find them here) are huge for example, and many games require multiple rolls.
- Looks awesome! I mean come on, it needs to look cool.
- Durable. I don’t want something cheap that will break when I transport it to a game.
There are a lot of ways to make a great dice tray, but they all have those similar properties.
You can vary sizes and materials, but they should contain things, look great, and keep your table unscratched.
With all those considerations in mind, here are the best dice trays for DnD (learn how to start playing here), Warhammer, Star Wars: Legion, Kill Team… and all the other tabletop dice games!
Best Day-to-Day Dice Trays
These are your everyday, go-to, workhorse-level trays. They look good, do the job, but they’re nothing too fancy.
Perfect for everyday tabletop wargaming or traditional dice games like Farkle (learn how to play here).
- ★Perfect Protecting Your Dice & Table - Our dice box for rolling outside is made of wearable...
- ★Ingenious Construction - This hexagon small tray with 6 corner snaps is easy to fold and...
- Dampens noisy dice rolling. The red velvet dice tray quiets the noise of rolling dice.
- Keeps dice on the table, in the dice tray, and off the floor.
Best High-End Dice Trays
Now we’re talking high-level collectible, impress your friends, look amazing on your gaming table or in your office to display.
These are beautiful, well-crafted dice trays for those that appreciate the craftsmanship that goes into it.
Check Price On Etsy
View On Wyrmwood Gaming Website
Custom Dice Trays
These guys are wonderful for the unique looks and specialization. They’re a step up in quality from the dailies but not at the really high-end level.
Check Price On Etsy
Check Price On Etsy
Check Price On Etsy
Simple Wooden Trays
These trays are simple wooded trays with some sort of cover in the bottom. Nothing fancy here, the focus is on functionality rather than style.
[amazon table=”332″ link_id=”18995″]
Other Great Options
- DAMPENS NOISY DICE ROLLING - The rolling surface is lined with green velvet material...
- GAME HALL QUALITY: If you are looking for a tray that will see a lot of vigorous rolling...
- HUNTER GREEN FINISH: Octagonal, wooden dice tray measures 12 x 12 x 2 inches...
- FELT-LINED: The surface of the dice tray is lined with dark, forest green felt to ensure a...
Octagonal Dice Trays
All have padded sides and felt/velvet covered bottoms.
[amazon table=”336″ link_id=”18999″]
Other Great Options
- DURABLE FRAME: Constructed with a frame designed for durability and and a long life
- LEATHERETTE WRAP:Our durable frame is then wrapped with high quality leatherette material...
What Is A Dice Tray?
A dice tray is a gaming accessory that offers several benefits to its user.
1. Keeps the Dice Contained
They contain a “well” that helps keep dice from clattering about the table, potentially knocking over entire squadrons of miniatures or even player’s drinks in the case of metal dice.
This can be especially useful if you happen to be playing with a large group of players in say a Pathfinder game (check out my player’s guide) or the table space for your games is otherwise at a premium.
No one wants to exhaust an already tense moment where a dice roll matters when said roll was made with a player’s “lucky” die and said die went careening who-knows-where, possibly under a couch.
In addition to dice trays, a quality gaming mat can add to the total experience as well. See what your options are here.
2. Dampens Sound
Most dice trays have some sort of material lining, which will be addressed in further detail within the next section, which mitigates the sound your dice make when they hit a surface.
If you happen to game on a glass or metal table and/or you know someone who favors metal dice, a dice tray can be a great way to:
- Keep the chaos contained.
- Preserve the hearing of players and the DM (especially in the case of metal dice clattering against a metal table).
- Maintain the health of the game table.
3. Ensures Rolls Are Visible
A dice tray, especially one positioned at the center of the gaming table like certain traditional games of chance that happen to use dice, also serves as a great way for everyone’s rolls to be visible to most, if not all, parties involved in the game.
If multiple players are rolling for something at the same time, such as a type of skill check to hear a thief’s footsteps in the dead of night or for initiative at the start of a combat, it might be a good idea to ask each player to make sure they are using dice that are distinct enough from everyone else’s.
This ensures that there is no confusion or argument over who got the natural 20 or the critical failure.
As an aside, placing the dice tray in a communal zone for rolling might be especially useful for certain player groups who are looking to stream their games like “Critical Role.”
The groups with money to invest in multiple cameras can have one aiming overhead so that viewers can see the dice rolls at the same time as the players.
4. Makes Rolling Easy
A dice tray can also be a great boon to helping players with difficulty rolling their dice by hand, possibly do to some sort of disability.
5. Increases Randomness
For players or even DMs concerned with unbalanced dice, the walls of a dice tray may offer just the additional hit of randomness needed to correct any dice that tend to favor certain numbers.
What To Look For In A Dice Tray (Buyer’s Guide)
One of the first questions that you should ask yourself when buying any gaming accessory i, “How often am I actually going to need this or use it?”
Consider these points when shopping around for a dice tray, either for yourself, a friend, or just some newcomers to the hobby as a whole.
- Has “dragonitis” set in and you have a horde of different colored and textured dice you regularly use or do you just have a set or three? If you only have a handful of dice to your name, you might only need a dice tray if you frequently game with people at a crowded table.
- Dice trays are useful for any sort of tabletop game, not just role-playing games like “Dungeons & Dragons” or “Shadowrun.” If you regularly play dice-intensive games like “Warhammer 40K,” “Warhammer: Age of Sigmar,” or “Paranoia,” a dice tray is probably going to be a good investment.
- Conversely, there are some games that either rarely calls for dice rolls, rely on a single type of die or use a completely different non-die way of handling random events; if you play a lot of these sorts of games you may be better off looking at other gaming accessories than a dice tray.
- Do you prefer to play at home, somewhere else, or even both? Some dice trays are engineered with traveling players’ needs in mind and can collapse or roll up for easy carrying. Furthermore, some dice trays are engineered to carry dice, further optimizing your carrying capacity.
- 2-in-1 DICE STORAGE DESIGN: A reinforced hard shell case with a heavy-duty zippered...
- DICE FORTRESS STORAGE: Heavy duty zippers and a spacious covered section with...
On Sizes, Shapes, and Materials
Remember that buying a dice tray, even an opaque utilitarian one with little flare, is about expressing yourself.
Think about whether you would prefer to use one just for yourself or chip in for your gaming group by purchasing a larger one for everyone to use.
(Pointers on how to hook up with a gaming group can be found in this article.)
Sizes
Dice trays come in several sizes, with most commonly found models ranging in size from 5.5 inches across (considered a “personal” tray) to as wide as 12 inches.
It is important to note that several models contain an inner and outer tray.
In these cases, the outer tray is usually a narrow field to use as a resting place for commonly used dice and the inner tray is the area where players’ dice are to be rolled.
Shapes
The most common configurations for this sort of accessory are either a square, rectangle, hexagon or octagon.
Materials
At the most basic level, there are three major categories of materials used in the construction of a dice tray.
- Wood
- Leather
- Plastic
“I mean, this one is ‘nice,’ but can I get it in chromed magenta?”
Just because you have become convinced that you either want or need a dice tray, that does not mean your decision has come to an end.
Whether you are looking to build your ultimate gaming chamber or you just need something cheap yet sturdy enough to hold up to being taken with you to and from sessions, there is a dice tray for your budget.
Budget Options
You can easily find dice trays on the market for less than $10 or even $5.
These types of trays tend to be made of polyurethane-coated leather, usually marketed as “PU leather,” and most are foldable/collapsible.
While it is possible to encounter the occasional wooden dice tray at this price range, it will likely be a static object without any sort of feature to collapse or become easier to store.
A lucky few may even throw in a set of dice, making them a great budget gift for gamer friends and newcomer hobbyists.
Premium Options
The high-end options for dice trays involve specially harvested and treated woods that can range in price from $80 to nearly $300, depending on the particular wood.
“Sweet Spot” Options
Look in this range if you want a decent, sturdy tray without paying through the nose ($15-$50).
Just about any common material can be found at this range and you can find lots of custom features, like a “jail” for terrible dice or leather fold-up construction if you look into the right vendors.
